Chapter 4: A New Assignment
Su-Tan arranged for them to have food and water. After they had eaten, she and Mi-Ying went to the outer room, leaving Chen hidden in the secret chamber. Su-Tan opened the door and peered out into the hallway. There were a few people around now that the funeral procession had ended. She stepped out and Mi-Ying put her hood on and followed.
"How do we find her?" Su-Tan asked.
"Well, do you know where she is staying at night?"
Su-Tan shook her head.
"Well, maybe we can ask one of the servants."
They walked along the hallway and Su-Tan found a servant to ask. She didn't know and demanded to know why Su-Tan would be asking such a thing. Mi-Ying took Su-Tan's arm and hurried away with her as the servant continued to rant at them.
They turned a corner and stood at the end of a long corridor. There were dozens of rooms in that hallway alone.
"What do we do? We can't just go into the rooms."
"Maybe if we can find General Li, he will lead us to her," Mi-Ying suggested.
"Would you recognize him?"
"Yes. But we have to make sure we follow him without him seeing us. If he sees me, he'll know Chen is here, too."
The soldiers were outside still, in the square and around the city. They went downstairs and out into the square, looking around.
Suddenly, someone came up behind them, laughing.
"Hey, Ping! Who's your little friend? And what's with the hood?"
The hood of Mi-Ying's cloak was suddenly yanked off of her head and she screamed, whirling around. Su-Tan screamed, too, and grabbed Mi-Ying's hand. Several people in the square turned to see what the screams were about.
"Whoa! Whoa! I'm just playing around…hey, you're not Mulan!"
Mi-Ying and Su-Tan stared at the skinny man that stood before them.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you girls. I'm Ling. I'm Mulan's friend. Who are you?"
"You thought I was Mulan?" Mi-Ying asked him.
"You're the same size as her. From the back, and with the hood up…sorry. I can see you're much younger. What are your names?"
"I'm Mi-Ying and this is Su-Tan. We are looking for Mulan. We have to talk to her. Do you know where she is?"
"Not at the moment. But she and General Li are staying in the palace. Do you want to see the General?"
The girls shook their heads vehemently and Ling laughed.
"Yes, I know he seems tough and hard. But he isn't really; it is all an act."
The girls exchanged looks and Mi-Ying said, "We really need Mulan."
Ling laughed again.
"Alright, I can see you don't want to go anywhere near the general. I can bring you to the room where they are staying at night instead if you want."
Both girls nodded.
"Yes, please."
Ling laughed and gestured for them to follow him.
"Ling, what is going on?" said a stern voice behind them.
Mi-Ying pulled her hood up at the sound of the voice.
Ling turned around and saluted. "Hello, General. I was just helping these girls. They are lost."
Mi-Ying didn't even need to look to know who it was when she heard the man addressed as 'General'.
"What was the screaming about?"
"Nothing. We were playing a game. Come on, girls," Ling said, pushing them along in front of him. "Goodnight, General."
Mi-Ying glanced back from under her hood and saw the stern, serious face of General Li, who was standing there with his arms folded, watching them.
"That was close," she muttered to Su-Tan. "I wonder if he heard about me and about Chen yet."
xxxxxxx
Shang watched Ling hurry off with the two girls.
He now recognized the little girl as Su-Tan. He didn't know who the other girl was. She was covered in a black cloak and her hood was up; she looked like Mulan. She was the same height and build. But Mulan was supposed to be working with Shen-Li. Why would she be roaming around with Su-Tan?
Ling had been acting strange just now; but he had always been a goofball, ever since Shang had known him. He was always playing pranks and making a joke out of everything. He was probably pulling another one of his pranks, at his expense no doubt. The fact that he was Ling's commanding officer didn't seem to discourage him from making him the brunt of jokes.
Shang sighed and turned, heading off to talk to the leaders of the troops on the night watch. Then he returned to the palace, looking forward to seeing his wife.
xxxxxxx
Mulan followed the servant to the council room, where Ying was supposed to be waiting for her. But when she got there, the room was empty. The servant left, shutting the door behind him.
A moment later, the trick panel to the hidden room opened.
"Come in, Captain Li."
Mulan entered the hidden chamber and Prince Ying shut the panel behind her. He was by himself.
"Come with me. We have much to discuss."
He led her into the passage inside the walls and led her through the maze of tunnels once again. She tried to make a mental note of each twist and turn that they made. She didn't know how anyone could know their way through this labyrinthine maze.
She was astonished when they went through a door and ended up outside in the forest. It was not the same exit as last time; they were on a different side of the palace.
He gestured for her to follow him, leading her deeper into the forest and she suddenly regretted that she didn't have a sword with her.
He led her out of the forest and up the hill, to a temple.
"I have a special assignment for you, Captain Li Mulan."
"Yes, your Majesty," she said, softly.
"I need you to assist me in setting up a ruse."
She raised an eyebrow in confusion, but answered, "Of course, sir."
He explained what he wanted her to do and why.
"What about you? Will you be safe in all this?"
"Yes, I will."
Mulan had a terribly uneasy feeling. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, Captain. I appreciate your concern. And everything will become clear to you in time."
She bowed and told him that she was at his service.
"And Captain, this does not go past the two of us."
"Yes, sir."
She would obey his order; but she was suspicious as to why he didn't want Jiang Shen-Li to know.
xxxxxxx
Mulan wasn't in the room when Ling brought them there, but Mi-Ying and Su-Tan made a note of exactly where it was and how to get there. Then they returned to Su-Tan's room and went into the hidden chamber.
They told Chen about Ling and that they had seen his brother.
"Do you think he knows that we're here?"
"He doesn't know," Ming told him. "I already took care of that."
Chen looked at Ming.
"I'll explain later," the little monkey said in answer to his look.
"And we found Mulan's room. But she wasn't there. We'll have to go back a little later."
"My brother might be there."
"Well, I just won't let him see me," Mi-Ying answered. "Su-Tan will go in, and I'll wait down the hall or something."
Su-Tan got dinner for them and more water. Then they sat in the hidden chamber and talked quietly. Suddenly, Su-Tan hushed them.
"Listen," she whispered. "Do you hear that?"
There were footsteps in the passageway inside the walls again.
"It's okay. I know who it is. He's nice," Chen said.
"How can you know that without seeing him?" Mi-Ying asked.
"I just do. He won't hurt you, Su-Tan. He's hiding because people might try to hurt him."
"It's still scary," Su-Tan muttered. "I don't like it here."
Chen nodded. "There are a lot of bad things here. But it will be okay. And Mulan will help us."
xxxxxxx
Mulan returned to her room and threw herself on the bed, burying her face in her arms.
Ying had led her back into the palace and left her in the council room, disappearing back into the secret chamber after bidding her goodnight.
She was extremely disturbed by this new assignment, especially since it was something that only the two of them were supposed to know. He had given her a plausible reason as to why he wanted her to carry out this ruse. But what if it was a trick? What if he was the one that had killed his father?
"Hey, baby."
"Mushu!" she exclaimed, happily, sitting up.
"Did you miss me?"
"I am so glad to see you. I wasn't sure if you were still my guardian, since I'm not really a Fa anymore. I'm a Li now."
"Babe, you're never getting rid of me, whatever your family name is."
"Thanks, Mushu."
"So, Prince Ying made you his number one confidante."
"You were there?"
"Of course. He was leading you off into the forest alone. You bet I was going to be there to make sure everything was alright."
"So, what do you think?"
"I think that he's okay."
"That was my first impression of him. But still, people around here are so good at deceit and intrigue. I know that I'm intelligent, but I think that I am just not devious enough to keep up with the people here."
"There's something else you should know, Mulan."
"What?"
Mushu hesitated.
"Oh, no. Are you kidding me?"
"It's okay, though. The Li ancestors sent a guardian to watch over him."
Mulan dropped her head into her hands. "Does Shang know?"
"Not yet. Chen has a very tricky guardian."
"What do you mean?"
"His guardian is a monkey."
"A monkey?"
"Yes. And he's very clever and tricky. He can transform himself to look like a person, any person."
Mulan just stared at him. "And?"
"And he made himself look like Shang and intercepted the message that came for Shang from Grandfather Li this afternoon."
She would have laughed at that if she wasn't so upset.
"But, you know, that particular power may come in handy in this situation, Mulan. Maybe that is why this particular guardian was sent to Chen. I mean, think about it. He can probably out-maneuver everyone here. And he's immortal. So they can't touch him."
"You're right, Mushu. I'll have to give this some thought."
"What about Shang? Are you going to tell him?"
Mulan groaned. "I don't know. I should tell him. But he worries so about Chen. He'll go out of his mind if he knows Chen is here again."
"There's something else."
"Ohh," Mulan groaned. "What? What?"
"Chen's friend Mi-Ying is here, too."
"Mi-Ying came with him?"
"Yes."
"Where are they?"
"The two of them are hiding in Su-Tan's room. The reason Chen left is because Su-Tan ran away from the palace last night."
"She did?"
"Yes. He knew she was going to be in danger in the forest, so he went to help her. Mi-Ying came to help. They brought Su-Tan back here today."
Mulan stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"To Su-Tan's room."